A fiery helicopter crash in New South Wales, Australia, that took the lives of two extraordinary filmmakers, Andrew Wight and Mike deGruy, on Saturday came as devastating news in an instant message from a mutual friend this morning. Their loss was quickly felt around the world as news of the tragedy spread through social media among the ocean advocacy and exploration community.
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In a statement today, director James Cameron reported that "the deep-sea community lost two of its finest." Wight, 52, who was piloting the Robinson R-44 helicopter, was known as Cameron's "right-hand man," having led six deep-ocean expeditions with him.
Between the successes of the films Titanic and Avatar, Cameron has spent much of his time exploring the deep secrets of the ocean with marine biologists, astrobiologists, oceanographers and historians -- resulting in the making of several documentaries, which Wight produced as Cameron's documentary film partner. In 2003, I had the opportunity to work on one of these adventures as the science coordinator for "Aliens of the Deep," which featured hydrothermal vents from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
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Wight was recently named head of the Australian office of CAMERON | PACE, responsible for providing 3-D cameras and production technology to Australian films and television. The 3-D film Sanctum, which Wight co-wrote based on his experiences as an underwater cave diver and shot on the Gold Coast, made $100 million worldwide at the box office last year.
Wight and deGruy, 60, were reportedly on a scouting mission to Jervis Bay, and National Geographic confirmed that the two were working for them on a new documentary with Cameron in the region. The reason for the crash is still under investigation.
“Andrew was kind and loyal, full of life and a sense of fun, and above all, a careful planner who stressed safety to everyone on his team every single day. It is cruelly ironic that he died flying a helicopter, which was second nature to him, like driving a car would be to most people,” added Cameron.
DeGruy, he said, was “one of the ocean’s warriors. A man who spoke for the wonders of the sea as a biologist, filmmaker and submersible pilot, and who spoke against those who would destroy the sea’s web of life. He was a warm, funny, extremely capable man and one of the world’s top underwater cinematographers. His passion for exploration and for the wonders beneath the sea was boundless.”
DeGruy's TED Talks [watch below] reveal the joy he had for his work and his natural sense of wonder. It is my hope that his goal of protecting the deep sea is continued.
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As ocean conservationist Celine Cousteau wrote on her Facebook page, Andrew and Mike "will be more than missed." Our hearts at Discovery News go out to their families and our friends and colleagues at National Geographic who were close to them.
IMAGES:
Avatar's Tree of Souls (James Cameron)
Cinematographer Mike Degruy (Corbis)
Sanctum 3D writer and producer Andrew Wight and his wife, Monica Wight, at Universal CityWalk on Jan. 4, 2011, in Universal City, Calif. (Photo by Paul Redmond/WireImage/Getty Images).
Sanctum 3D
Tags: Adventure, Oceanography, Safety
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